"Probably my hardest pre-draft workout ever" - Tracy McGrady admits blowing up Celtics interview due to Rick Pitino 

In an interview with The Ringer's Ryen Russillo, Tracy McGrady talked about the time he messed up his Boston Celtics interview because of Rick Pitino.

Entering the NBA as a rookie, there are numerous hurdles that one has to go through to make it in the league. One of these hurdles is having a good relationship with your coach and for Tracy McGrady, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Rick Pitino.

"In college, I was being recruited by Kentucky," McGrady said. "I just knew how hard and how tough Rick Pitino was. Rick Pitino had left and become Boston's coach. And I was like, 'Ugh, I don't know if I want to play for Rick Pitino.' "

It boiled down to how McGrady was not fond of how tough of a coach Rick Pitino was. He had his first-hand experience of this during his pre-draft workout with the Boston Celtics, which McGrady found demanding.

McGrady also confessed to have deliberately messed up his Boston interviews, in a desperate bid to avoid playing under Pitino.

Luckily enough, Boston passed up on McGrady in the 1997 NBA Draft and instead selected Chauncey Billups as the third pick. The Toronto Raptors ended up selecting Tracy McGrady as the ninth pick from the draft class.

The Celtics ended up trading Billups in the middle of the season for Kenny Anderson, Popeye Jones, and Zan Tabak, as the organization felt it was the right move to make at the time.

Meanwhile, for Toronto, McGrady played for three seasons with the franchise as one of the promising young players in the NBA. During his time playing for the Raptors, he averaged 11.1 points per game (44.8% shooting, including 28.4% from 3-point range) and 5.5 rebounds.

Tracy McGrady wished he stayed in Toronto

In a Basketball Network article written by Shane Garry Acedera, Tracy McGrady looked back on his career, and opened up on his desire to stay in Toronto instead of taking his talents somewhere else.

"In hindsight, looking back, obviously I wish I had stayed in Toronto," McGrady said. "There's no doubt we could have contended for a championship. I think about that often."

McGrady was starting to find his footing during his third year in Toronto. He averaged 15.4 ppg (45.1% shooting, including 27.7% from 3-point range) and 6.3 rpg.

Back in the 2000 NBA free agency, Tracy McGrady was getting offers from the Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bulls, and the Miami Heat because of his upside.

In the scenario that he ended up staying in Toronto with Vince Carter, the two could very well be looked at now as one of the best scoring tandems in NBA history.